Traffic signal



Dec. 16, 1958 c. A. HEIKES 2,865,017

TRAFFIC SIGNAL Filed March 25, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

C. A. HEIKES TRAFFIC SIGNAL Dec. 16, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March25, 1957 C. A. HEIKES TRAFFIC SIGNAL Dec. 16, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 3Filed March 25, 1957 wei R.

United States Patent TRAFFIC SIGNAL Calvin A. Heikes, Omaha, Nebr.Application March 25, 1957, Serial No. 648,311

4 Claims. (Cl. 340-41) This invention relates to trafiic signals andmore particularly it is an object of this invention to provide a trafiicsignal of lower cost of manufacture, lower cost of operation, and ofgreater dependability than heretofore.

The most commonly used traffic signals of the type which are employed inthe center of the intersections use red, yellow and green lenses on allfour sides of the signal. Customarily separate lights have been used insuch signals behind each lens to the end that twelve lamps have beennecessary for each unit.

It is an object of this invention to provide a unit which is operablewith much fewer lamps to substantially reduce the likelihood of a signalbecoming inoperable because of a failure of a lamp.

A further object of the invention is to provide a signal in whichmultiple lamps are used in such a way that if one or more of the lampsfail the remaining lamp or lamps continue to maintain signalling in allfour direc- A further object of the invention is to provide a signaladapted to eliminate the necessity for a large and expensive housingsuch as is necessary when there are twelve signal windows in a unit,thereby achieving economy of construction.

A further object of the invention is to provide a signalling unit, thelamps of which are constantly in operation rather than frequentlyturning off and. on as is common in units of the prior art. Thisprovides much longer lamp life because of the constant operation ratherthan the changing of a lamp from off to on frequently, as is known to bea factor greatly reducing the life of incandescent lamps.

A more particular object is to provide a signal, the colors of whichare. changed through the use of multicolored discs.

A further object of my invention is to provide a new signalling systemin which the signal changes from red directly to green without an amberinbetween, and in which the signal changes from green to red with anamber inbetween.

A further object of the invention is to provide a unit as described,.thecentral portion of which containing all moving; parts is mounted on itsown frame for ready removability'.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a disc signal centerframe and an outer cover and having means to prevent the outer coverfrom undesirably contacting the moving discs.

A further object of the invention is to provide a signalling system inwhich the signal for cars going in one direction changes from green toamber and remains on amber a short length of time, during which time thesignal for a car going in the transverse direction is on redwherebycollisions are avoided that heretofore came because signals fortraffic traveling on each street were onamber at the same time.

(Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention willbe apparent from the following detailed 2. description, drawings andclaims, the cope of the invention not being limited to the drawingsthemselves as the drawings are only for the purpose of illustrating away in which the principles of this invention can be applied.

Other embodiments of the invention utilizing the same or equivalentprinciples may be used and structural changes may be made as desired bythose skilled in the art without departing from the present inventionand the purview of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a perspective view of the signal of this invention as itwould be seen in use;

Figure 2 is a vertical cross section taken through the center of thesignal of Figure 1 with the exception that in Figure 2 the signal ismounted on a post rather than suspended from a cable;

Figure 3 is an exploded view of the signal of Figure l as seen inperspective;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the signal of Figure 1 with the coverremoved;

Figure 5 is a detail of a shaft lock and release mechanism; and

Figure 6 is a view-in-section taken along the line 66 of Figure 4.

The signal light of this invention comprises a housing 10 having fourwindows 12 extending outwardly therefrom on four different sides of thehousing 10. The housing 10 is preferably square in top plan view as bestseen in Figure 4.

The windows 12 are preferably of clear glass or other clear material andhave hoods 13 disposed above them. The housing 10 has a top 14 removablyattached thereto by means of bolts 15. The top 14 has an eyelet 16suitably attached thereto for receiving a suspension cable 18 forsuspending the signal in the center of and above the intersectionbetween two streets.

In the housing 10 is an inner support frame 24 which latter supports alllater described moving parts. The support frame 24 is preferably of abox shape although it can have large openings in its sides to reduce itsweight and the cost of construction.

Four colored discs 28 are disposed outwardly of the housing 24 and areadapted to rotate across the windows 12 on shafts 30 and 32 which aredisposed beneath the windows 12.

The shaft 30 interconnects two opposite ones of the discs 28 and theshaft 32 interconnects the other two discs 28, the discs being mountedby screws 34 on a hub 36 which latter is attached to and rotates withthe respective shaft 30 or 32.

The shafts 3i) and 32 are drivably synchronized by two gears 40 and 42which are attached to the shafts 30 and 32 respectively and which aredisposed in mesh with each other.

A spring pawl 46 is provided, as best seen in Figure 4, and the pawl 46is suitably attached to the frame 24 to make it impossible for the gear40 to rotate in any direction other than clockwise as seen from theright in Figure 4.

As best seen in Figure 4 there are many parts which will be laterdescribed for causing the shafts 31 and 32" Suitable cords 64interconnect the bases 62 and a plug 66 which latter is adapted to pluginto a receptacle 68,

best seen in Figure 2, and disposed at the bottom of the frame 24.

The receptacle 68 is self-connected by suitable wires 70 to contactmembers 78,best seen in Figures 2 and 6, which latter extend downwardlyfrom a bottom 80 which is horizontally disposed across and attached tothe frame 24. The contact members 78 are preferably elongated andresilient and preferably extend partially horizontally for contactingcontact buttons 88 which are mounted above the bottom 90 of the housingand are suitably attached thereto.

A cord 92 extends downwardly from the contact buttons 88 which aremounted above a bottom 90 of the housing 10 and are suitably attachedthereto.

A cord 92 extends downwardly from the contact buttons 88 through a pipe94 seen in Figure 2. The pipe 94 is adapted to serve as a verticalstandard and support the housing 10 when the cable 18 is not used. Inthis way the pipe 94 forms a modification of the invention although itbe understood that, referring to Figure 1, the wire 92 is suitablyattached to a cord 98 leading out from the housing 10 through a pipe100, the cord 98 being adapted to extend to a suitable source ofelectric current, being supported, if desired, from the cable 18 on aring 102 or a plurality of such rings.

Referring to Figure 3 it will be seen that the frame 24 has a pluralityof upright posts 1 10 disposed one at each corner. The posts 110 are forreceiving a rectangular member 112 thereon which latter has flatsurfaces on four sides which are provided with openings 116 which areadapted to be disposed directly opposite, and are shaped similarly to,the openings of the windows 12.

The member 112 is adapted to be received on the posts 110 and to beupheld by transverse members 120 of the frame 24 which extend around theframe 24 adjacent the shafts 30 and 32.

It is the transverse frame members 1 which support the shafts and 32rotatably.

Referring to Figure 3 a suitable hook 124 can be kept at all times inthe housing supported from a hanger 126 which latter hooks over the topof the member 112.

Means are provided for rotating the shaft 32 and as best seen in Figure6 this comprises a ratchet wheel 12'5 fixed to the shaft 32. A pawl 128is pivotally attached to a pawl supporting member 130 in a position forengaging the ratchet wheel 125. A spring 132, mounted on the supportingmember 130, holds the pawl in place against the ratchet Wheel 125. Alever 136 is attached to the pawl supporting member 130 and extendsradially outwardly with respect to the shaft 32 having a weight 138 onits outer end.

'The lever 136 has a toggle or linkage 140 attached pivotally to theunderside thereof and the linkage 140 extends downwardly to a strike-bar144 which latter has an outer end pivotally attached by means of a pin146 and ears 148 to the frame 24.

The pin 146 is disposed a substantial distance beneath the shaft 32whereby when the lever 136 is in a rest positionit is disposedsubstantially vertically and its lower end 18 pivoted at a pointapproximately beneath the shaft 32.

As best seen in Figure 6 a jogging arm 150 is disposed beneath thestrike-bar 144 and the arm 150 has a horizontally extending nib 1'52thereon which is adapted to strike the strike-bar 144 as the jogging arm150 rotates about its other end which is fixed to a shaft 154 bysuitable means. The outer end of the shaft 154 extends through anopening in a brace 160 which latter, as best seen in Figure 3, extendsto and is attached to the frame- 24, although in Figure 6 it has beenbroken away for clarity of illustration, and is held in place by a clip156.

The jogging arm 150 rotates in the direction of the arrow 164 androtates counter-clockwise as best seen in Figure 6. This rotation causesthe lever '136 to raise upwardly a sufficient distance to set the pawl128 in a new position whereby when the jogging arm 150 has passed thestrike-bar 144 and the lever 136 is free to fall, the weight 138 on thelever 136 will cause the lever 136 to fall, thus rotating the shaft 32.

It is desirable to prevent the shaft 32 from rotating any more thanone-quarter turn and so for this reason a shaft lock and releasemechanism, generally indicated at in Figure 5, is provided. Thismechanism includes a wheel 172 having four outwardly protruding arms 174extending outwardly from its hub, each arm 174 being spaced apart fromthe next arm ninety degrees. The wheel 172.is fixed to the shaft '32supporting the hub.

As the lever 136 approaches the upper end of its upper swing it strikesa receiving bar 178 which extends transversely across the top of thelever 136.

As the lever 136 moves upwardly, at the upper end of the swing, itstrikes the lower end of a screw 180 which is mounted through the end ofthe bar 178 thereby moving the member 178 upwardly. The member 178extends horizontally and is attached at one end to a verticallyextending member v1'82 which is attached to a long horizontal lever 184of a bell-crank assembly which has a shorter lever 186 disposed at aright angle to the longer arm 184, the lever 186 extending verticallyand having a horizontal dog 188 on its upper end which is adapted toextend over and arrest movement of the wheel 172 at times when thebell-crank is not disposed in the upper dotted line position shown inFigure 5. However, when the bell-crank is in the dotted line positionshown in Figure 5, by rotating about its shaft 190 fixed to a framemember of the frame 24, the dog 188 is to one side of the path of thewheel 172 whereby the wheel is free to rotate.

The bell-crank is urged into the downward pull line vposition shown inFigure 5 by an elongated spring 196 fixed by member 198 to a part of theframe 24 whereby the bell-crank and the screws 180 return to thedownward pull line position best shown in Figure 5 whenever the lever136 retreats downwardly again.

As thus described the mechanism shown in Figure 5 permits a rotation ofexactly ninety degrees upon each upward movement of the lever 136. Thisis important as the discs 28 must be rotated ninety degrees each time aswill be later described.

As best seen in Figure 4, a shaft rotating mechanism similar to thatpreviously described is shown disposed along the shaft 32 inwardly ofthe part described. This second set of mechanisms include a ratchetwheel 225 which is similar to the ratchet wheel 125; a pawl 228 similarto the pawl 128, a pawl supporting member 230 similar to the pawlsupporting member 130, a lever 236 similar to the lever 136, and aspring 232 similar to the spring 132. All these parts serve similarpurposes and the further link 240, similar to the link 140, extendsdownwardly from the lever 236 to a second and inwardly disposedstrike-bar 244 similar to the strike-bar 144 and also mounted on the pin146. The second strike-bar 244 is caused to jog upwardly by a second nib252 similar to the nib 152 for extending outwardly and horizontally fromthe opposite side of the jogging arm 150 from the nib 152. The nib 252can best be seen in Figure 3 and it will be a short distance inwardlyalong the jogging arm 150 from the nib 252 whereby the striking-bar 244tends to move upwardly simultaneously with the striking-bar 144 but thestriking-bar 144 will start its movement eariler than the bar 244 aswill complete its movement sooner than the bar 244 inasmuch as the nib152 will pass by and release the striking bar 144 before the nib 252will release the longer striking-bar 244., The striking-bar 244 islonger for a purpose later described so that the levers 136 and 236 havedifferent actions.

As the lever 236 reaches the upper end of its stroke it will strike ascrew 280 disposed through the member 178 of the mechanism best seen inFigure 5 whereby the part shown in dotted lines in Figure 5 will moveupwardly to the dotted line position causing the dog 188 simultaneously.

It is the outer lever 136 which engages the respective screw 180 of thereceiving bar 178 before the other lever 236 engages the other screw 280of the receiving bar 178.

The time interval between the time when the lever 136- strikes its screw180 and the lever 236 strikes its screw 280 is sufficient for thereceiving bar 178 to move upwardly into the dotted line position shownin Figure and fall downwardly into the full line position shown inFigure 5 again whereby as the second lever 236 moves the receiving bar178 upwardly into the dotted line position shown in Figure 5 anddownwardly again the wheel 172 makes a ninety degree rotation. In otherwords the wheel 172 and shaft 32 rotates ninety degrees as a result ofthe lever 136 moving upwardly and then falling downwardly again and alsothe wheel 172 and shaft 32 ,rotates a second ninety degrees as a resultof the second lever 236 moving upwardly and downwardly again.

The difference in timing between the levers 136 and 236 is two andone-half seconds as is the desired length of time for the amber coloredlight signal to operate.

Referring now to Figure 3 it will be seen that the disc 28 which isshown separate from the machine has a ninety degree segment 300 which isuppermost and which is red in color, a second ninety degree segment 302which is downwardly and to the left of the section 300 and which is alsored in color, the segment 302 being disposed directly behind the segment300 in rotational position inasmuch as rotation of the disc at the righthand in Figure 3 is in a clockwise direction as indicated by the arrow304. i A third ninety degree segment is shown at 306 and is of greencolor and follows the section 302 and the seg ment 306 is disposed atthe bottom of the disc as shown in Figure 3.

A fourth segment 308 is shown at the right in Figure 3 and this segmentis amber in color and is of a quarter portion of the circle. v As thusdescribed it will be seen that as the discs are shown in Figure 3 thered color is showing on two sides and the green is showing on two sides,the red showings being opposite each other for giving the same signal tothe same street while the greens are opposite each other for giving thegreen signal on both sides of the indicator to the street that isdisposed at ninety degrees to the street receiving the red signal.

At the next ninety degree rotation the discs shown separate in Figure 3will have red uppermost for two and one-half seconds, the earlier redsegment 300 having been in place forty-seven and one-half seconds.

Next the green segment 306 will replace the red segment 302 in theuppermost position, the green segment remaining in place forty-seven andone-half seconds. Thereafter the amber segment 308 will replace thegreen segment 306 in the uppermost position. The amber seg ment willremain in place two and one-half seconds. During, these same periods thesame colors are showing on the opposite side of the signal from the discwhich has been removed in Figure 3.

However it will be interesting to note that while the disc which isremoved in Figure 3 rotates in a clockwise direction to a person facingthe disc, the opposite disc rotates in a counterclockwise direction to aperson facing that disc, inasmuch as both discs are on the same shaft.

As. thus described the signal changes from red to green without an ambercolor inbetween. However it: changes from green to amber before itchanges again. to red. In this way the cars that are in motion have achance to stop before the red signal comes. But the cars that arestopped at a red light receive no amber signal before the light changesto green. This has the effect of tending to prevent motorists fromstarting on an amber light.

The signal can be operated by any suitable mechanism part of which iscontained in a housing 310 best seen in Figures 2 and 6. The shaft 154is driven by the mechanism in the housing 310 and it will be understoodthat such mechanism includes a gear train for attaining a porper speedreduction, the gear train being driven by a shaft 312 of a motor 314.The motor 314 in the housing 310 are both suitably secured to a mountingbracket 316 which is itself attached to the frame 24 at the bottom ofthe frame, suitable bolts 320 being used to mount the motor on thebracket 316.

The motor 314 receives power through wires 322 which are attachedrespectively to the contact members 78 earlier described.

The frame 24 is removably disposed in the outer housings 10 and it hasleg-screws 350 which hold the bottom of the frame 24 spaced upwardlyfrom the bottom of the outer housing 10.

The screws 280 and of the receiving bar 178 are for adjustment of thelock and release mechanism 170. Other adjustment screws are providedwhich arrest the downward travel of the strike-bars 144 and 244 and inparticular, screws 402 and 404 which are disposed extending upwardlythrough the bottom of the bracket 148. The screw 402 is adapted tocontact the strike-bar 144 and the screw 404 contacts the strike-bar24.4 upon release of the levers 136 and 236 by the release mechanism.

Further, it will be seen that vertically disposed runners 400 attachedto each of the upright frame members 110. These runners 400 extenddiagonally outward as best seen in top plan view of Figure 4 and serveas guides when placing the frame into the outer housing 10 and in sodoing engage each of the corners of the housing 10.

The runners 400'space the frame 24 away from the interior side walls ofthe housing 10 providing clearance for the operation and rotation of thesignal discs 28.

From the foregoing description, it is thought to be obvious that atraffic signal constructed in accordance with my invention isparticularly well adapted for use, by reason of the convenience andfacility with which it may be assembled and operated, and it will alsobe obvious that my invention is susceptible of some change andmodification without departing from the principles and spirit thereof,and for this reason I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself tothe precise arrangementand formation of the several parts herein shownin carrying out my invention in practice, except as claimed.

I claim:

1. A trafiic signal adapted for long lamp life and operation withminimum lamp replacement servicing, comprising a frame, a housingenclosing said frame, said housing having openings on four sidesthereof, windows of clear transparent material mounted on said housingand covering said openings, four discs each having a portion thereofdisposed opposite a respective window, said discs being disposed betweenthe frame and said housing, said discs each having a plurality ofsections of dilferent colors for signalling motorists, lamp means insaid housing and disposed inwardly of said discs whereby the coloredlight from said discs shining through said windows signals motorists,means for mounting said discs rotatably on said frame and for causingintermittent rotation of said discs whereby said discs each remainmotionless during a period in which one colored portion of a disc isopposite the respective window and whereby the disc then rotates untilanother colored portion is opposite the respective window, the discremaining stationary until a further signalling period'using theother-color has been completed, said means for causing said intermittentrotation comprising a first and second means for jogging rotation ofsaid discs and means for intermittently actuating said first and secondmeans with a time lapse between the time the first means is actuated andthe time the second means is actuated, said sections being in sequenceof appearance at a window, a color indicating stop for a one hundredeighty degree section of said disc, a color indicating go ahead for aninety degree section, and a color indicating the end of the go aheadperiod for a ninety degree section, said time lapse being synchronizedwith the position of said discs whereby said time lapse is equal to thetime at which the section indicating the end of the go ahead period of adisc is opposite to its respective window, and whereby the time lapsingbetween the intermittent actuations of said first and second means isequal to and synchronized with the time that the stop and go colors intwo opposite ones of said sections of said discs are opposite therespective window whereby said discs, intermittently rotating asdescribed, make possible a sufficiency of light changes with a minimumof turning on and off of the lamp means for eliminating a major cause oflamp failure.

2. A traffic signal adapted for long lamp life and operation withminimum lamp replacement servicing, comprising a frame, a housingenclosing said frame, said housing having openings on four sidesthereof, windows of clear transparent material mounted on said housingand covering said openings, four discs each having a portion thereofdisposed opposite a respective window, said discs being disposed betweenthe frame and said housing, said discs each having a plurality ofsections of different colors for signalling motorists, lamp means insaid housing and disposed inwardly ofsaid discs whereby the coloredlight from said discs shining through said windows signals motorists,means for mounting said discs rotatably on said frame and for causingintermittent rotation of said discs whereby said discs each remainmotionless during a period in which one colored portion of a disc isopposite the respective window and whereby the disc then rotates untilanother colored portion is opposite the respective window, the discremaining stationary while the other colored portion is opposite thewindow until a further signalling period using the other color has beencompleted whereby said discs, intermittently rotating as described, makepossible a sufiiciency of light changes with a minimum of turning on andoff of the lamp means for eliminating a major cause of lamp failure,said colors comprising: a color indicating stop for a one hundred andeighty degree section of said disc, a color indicating go ahead for aninety degree section, and a color indicating the end of the go aheadperiod for a ninety degree section.

3. A traffic signal adapted for long lamp life and opera tion withminimum lamp replacement servicing, comprising a frame, a housingenclosing said frame, said housing having openings on four sidesthereof, windows of clear transparent material mounted on said housingand covering said openings, four discs each having a portion thereofdisposed opposite a respective window, said discs being disposed betweenthe frame and said housing, said discs each having a plurality ofsections of different colors for signalling motorists, lamp means insaid housing and disposed inwardly of said discs whereby the coloredlight from said discs shining through said windows signals motorists,means for mounting said discs rotatably on said frame and for causingintermittent rotation of said discs .until another colored portion isopposite the respective window, the disc remaining stationary while theother colored portion is opposite the window until a further signallingperiod using the other color has been completed, said means for causingsaid intermittent rotation comprising a first and second means forjogging rotation of said discs and means for intermittently actuatingsaid first and second means with a time lapse between the time the firstmeans is actuated and the time the second means is actuated whereby saiddiscs, intermittently rotating as described, make possible a sufficiencyof light changes with a minimum of turning on and off of the lamp meansfor eliminating a major cause of lamp failure, said colors comprising: acolor indicating stop for a one hundred and eighty degree section ofsaid disc, a color indicating go ahead for a ninety degree section, anda color indicating the end of the go ahead period for a ninety degreesection.

4. A traffic signal adapted for long lamp life and operation withminimum lamp replacement servicing, comprising a frame, a housingenclosing said frame, said housing having openings on four sidesthereof, windows of clear transparent material mounted on said housingand covering said openings, four discs each having a portion thereofdisposed opposite a respective window, said discs being disposed betweenthe frame and said housing, said discs each having a plurality ofsections of different colors for signalling motorists, lamp means insaid housing and disposed inwardly of said discs whereby the coloredlight from said discs shining through said windows signals motorists,means for mounting said discs rotatably on said frame and for causingintermittent rotation of said discs whereby said discs each remainmotionless during a period in which one colored portion of a disc isopposite the respective window and whereby the disc then rotates untilanother colored portion is opposite the respective window, the discremaining stationary while the other colored portion is opposite thewindow until a further signalling period using the other color has beencompleted, said means for causing said intermittent rotation comprisingtwo shafts, said discs each being mounted on a shaft, gear meansdrivably interconnecting shafts for rotation of said shafts at equalspeeds, ratchet wheel means on one of said shafts, pawl means engageablewith said ratchet means, pawl mounting means attached to said pawl meansand rotatably mounted on said shaft for the rotation of said pawl aroundsaid gear as said pawl supporting means is rotated around said shaft,means for causing said pawl mounting means to rotate a desired degreeintermittently, means responsive to said pawl supporting means rotationfor permitting said shaft to rotate ninety degrees with each movement ofsaid pawl supporting means but arresting said shaft from furtherrotation whereby said discs, intermittently rotating as described, makepossible a sufficiency of light changes with a minimum of turning on andoff of the lamp means for eliminating a major cause of lamp failure,said colors comprising: a color indicating stop for a one hundred andeighty degree section of said disc, a color indicating go ahead for aninety degree section, and a color indicating the end of the go aheadperiod for a ninety degree section.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

